The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., is not investigating an incident, in which Tyler Finn, 32, of Lynchburg, Va., tried to enter Washington Hebrew Congregation with an unregistered gun as a hate crime, according to an incident report.
Finn faces charges of carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of unregistered ammunition, the police department told JNS.
Washington Hebrew Congregation is a nearly 175-year-old Reform synagogue that is “welcoming, inclusive and vibrant,” according to its website. It is located near the American University campus and the National Cathedral.
Police officers responded to the synagogue at around 10:15 a.m. on Saturday. Security officers told the police that they detained Finn and recovered a gun after it set off the synagogue’s metal detectors.
“The man was arrested on scene,” the police department told JNS.
The police report has “no” marked under whether it is a suspected hate crime.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington stated that its community security initiative spoke with the synagogue and the police department and “there is no ongoing threat.”
The incident occurred shortly before the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the “night of broken glass” in 1938, prior to the Holocaust.
About a month ago, the Israeli embassy held an Oct. 7 memorial at Washington Hebrew.
